A Baby for the Doctor

by Stephanie Dees

  His decision apparently made for him, he got out and slammed the door behind him. Jordan appeared, silhouetted in the door of the cottage. Ash greeted Gus and gave him a good rub before starting around the pond.

  He’d obviously caught her getting ready for bed. Her hair was piled on top of her head, her face freshly scrubbed. Second thoughts once again slowed his steps. “I’m sorry. I’m interrupting. I should go.”

  “I was about to have some chamomile tea. Want a cup?”

  He hesitated again, but honestly, he didn’t want to go home and sit in his empty house and worry about them. And yes, he knew he was supposed to give it to God, and he did; it just didn’t always seem to stick the way it should.

  He sat on the sofa and stared at the flickering candles, which replaced the wood in her fireplace now that it was warmer. She didn’t say anything, but he could hear her going through the motions in the kitchen. The bubbling kettle, the clank of ceramic mugs, the hiss as the water met the tea bag.

  Something about the ritual calmed the rough edges of his emotions.

  Jordan placed the cup on the table beside him and sat on the other end of the couch, her feet curled underneath her.

  He sipped the tea—too hot for big gulps.

  “Have you heard anything? Anyone new with symptoms?”

  “No, it’s been really quiet. The incubation period can be up to twenty-one days, though, so I’m not sure we’re out of the woods yet. It’s way worse than when I imagined something like this in my head. Waiting for the next child to come into the office or for the mom to call and describe the symptoms. It’s agonizing.”

  “I think one of the barn cats is pregnant. I don’t know how we ended up with so many cats. We gave all the kittens away except for the one that Joe and Claire kept.”

  The rapid switch in conversation topic had him blinking, but he realized he didn’t want to talk about measles, didn’t want to think about measles. “What’s the name of the pregnant one?”

  “Kat.”

  His lip twitched. “Very original.”

  “It’s spelled with a K.” She met his gaze, unblinking.

  He laughed, shaking his head, but he felt about a hundred pounds lighter. First time he’d found anything at all humorous all week. “You’re killing me.”

  “Kat and Gus are best friends.” Her big German shepherd was stretched out on a rag rug in front of the fireplace. His tail thumped when he heard his name. “I make up stories for Levi about the adventures of Kat and Gus.”

  He took another sip of his tea and relaxed into the pillows of her oversize blue velvet couch.

  Being with Jordan was like walking outside after a rainstorm, when the air seemed renewed, cool and fresh. “I want to hear one.”

  “No! They’re only funny if you’re three.”

  “Come on. Last week you said you would owe me a favor when I helped you load in all those bales of hay. I’m calling it.”

  She laughed and her cheeks pinkened.

  “Come on, I’m not leaving until I hear some adventures.”

  Jordan opened her mouth and his cell phone rang. She grinned.

  He muted the ring. “Oh, no. You’re not off the hook.”

  From the bedroom came a little voice. “Mama?”

  “Oops, sorry. Gotta check on the munchkin.” She popped to her feet and ran for the bedroom door, still laughing, as he answered his phone. “Dr. Sheehan.”

  “Ash, it’s Claire. Sweetness has been crying all afternoon. I just took her temperature. She has a fever of a hundred and two.”

  “Give her some ibuprofen and try some juice or a Popsicle. I’ll come by and check on her in a few minutes. I’m at Jordan’s.”

  He hung up the phone and looked up as Jordan came out of the room with Levi, his little arms around her neck, her face pale.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She lifted her hand. She was holding the ear thermometer and the screen was flashing red. “His temp is a hundred and three.”

  Chapter Seven

  Jordan stood in the door with Levi in her arms. She could feel the heat seeping from his skin to hers. He was so hot. She waited until Ash hung up the phone. “He’s burning up.”

  He was on his feet in a second, looking into Levi’s fretful eyes. “Hey, little man, you feeling kind of rough? I bet we can get you feeling better soon. Jordan, where do you keep the children’s ibuprofen?”

  “It’s in the cabinet over the coffeepot, the one with the child lock on it.” Her hands were shaking from the adrenaline dumped in her system. She’d reached into the crib to brush the hair from his forehead and his skin was on fire. It was the sign they’d been watching for, waiting for, fearing, these last long few days, but when she reached into that crib, her heart stopped.

  Ash was slamming drawers, rummaging around. “You have a syringe?”

  “Yes, in the silverware drawer, the one closest to the refrigerator.” Levi seemed warmer than he did just minutes ago when she checked his temp. She wondered if she needed to check it again.

  “How much does he weigh?”

  “Umm, at last check, twenty-two pounds.”

  Ash frowned, his eyebrows scrunching together under his glasses. “He’s still a good bit underweight.”

  “He weighed seventeen when we left the hospital. He’s gotten a lot stronger.” In her arms, Levi whimpered and she stroked his little back. “It’s okay, buddy. We’re getting you some medicine.”

  Ash shook the bottle and removed the cap. “Okay, the dose is ten milligrams per kilo, twenty-two pounds is right at ten kilos, so a hundred milligrams, or one teaspoon.”

  “Did you just do that in your head?”

  “The math isn’t that complicated, plus I do this one every day all day, pretty much.” He drew a teaspoon into the syringe and with the ease of lots of practice, squeezed it into Levi’s cheek. Miraculously, the three-year-old swallowed instead of spitting it out.

  “Impressive,” she said. Ash’s calm manner and easy competence relieved some of the panic she felt when she’d touched Levi’s little head and realized he wasn’t just warm.

  He grinned. “Nah. I’ve just had a lot of practice. Have you got a dry-erase pen?”

  “Yes, right there on the whiteboard on the refrigerator. Why?”

  Those brilliant blue eyes were warm on hers. “A little doctor tip. Use your dry-erase pen and write the time you gave the dose right there on the bottle. Then you know at a glance if you can dose again. And when you do, rub the time off and write it again.”

  “Good idea for those middle-of-the-night doses. I do something similar with the horse feed so I remember the ratios I use.”

  He wrote the time on the bottle and placed it on the counter, the pen next to it. “You can alternate ibuprofen and acetaminophen every three hours to keep his fever from shooting up.”

  “Thank you, Ash.” She rubbed her temple, where she had a shooting pain. “I’m not usually so easily rattled.”

  His hand slid up her arm to squeeze her shoulder. “It’s been a stressful week. I think we’re all a little on edge. And fever of one-oh-three is no joke.”

  She hitched Levi up a little higher and patted him as he coughed. “Who was that on the phone?”

  “Claire. Sweetness has a fever, too, so I’m headed over to check on her before I go.”

  “Oh, no—Do you think—Is there any chance this is just a cold or the flu, maybe?”

  He drew in a breath, his eyes serious. “There’s always a chance, but we need to be very careful. Don’t take Levi out in public and let me know if there are any changes in his condition at all.”

  “I’ve never done this before, Ash. What if he’s getting worse and I don’t know it?” She followed him to the door, where he turned back, standing i
n the open doorway.

  “If we can keep his fever under a hundred and one and he’s eating and playing, there’s nothing to worry about. If he’s lethargic, or if his temp won’t come down, call me, no matter what time. Okay?”

  She nodded, even though she had tears stinging behind her eyes. “Yes. Ibuprofen and acetaminophen alternating every three hours and call if he gets worse or I can’t keep the fever down.”

  “Exactly.” Ash put his arm around her and pulled her close, his rough cheek against her hair. “You’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He strode out the door and down the stairs toward the farmhouse, where the downstairs lights were still blazing and she could see Claire walking the baby in the kitchen.

  Jordan got a juice cup out of the fridge and settled into her favorite chair with Levi in her lap. Levi took a reluctant sip of juice, stuck his thumb in his mouth and stared at her with solemn brown eyes as she rocked gently. “I know you don’t feel good, buddy, but you’re going to be fine. Dr. Ash is a great doctor and he’s going to take good care of you.”

  The fever reducer kicked in, Levi’s little body relaxing. His eyelids began to droop and he slowly drifted to sleep.

  She pulled him close, letting his head settle against her chest. This sweet boy had already stolen her heart. She would do anything in her power to protect him, but it really wasn’t up to her.

  As she rocked, she whispered prayers over him, for healing of his body and healing of his tender spirit, that he would never feel abandoned or unloved or unworthy.

  The thought of him being sick with the measles was terrifying, but Ash made her feel like she could handle it. And she knew that he would be there beside them. She’d always been fiercely independent, but with Levi, she was out of her depth. She knew she couldn’t do it alone and she was thankful—so thankful—that Ash was by her side in this fight.

  * * *

  Weak sunlight had just begun to brighten the sky when Ash arrived at Red Hill Farm, and he’d already been to the hospital. The little brother of patient zero was recovering nicely and Ash had given the go-ahead for him to be released this afternoon.

  With Claire and Jordan busy with sick babies, Joe was up to his neck getting the other kids out the door. Ash’s niece, Amelia, was in charge of feeding the animals, but she usually had Jordan’s help, especially in the mornings before school, so Ash had swung by to lend a hand.

  As he shoveled fresh wood pellets into one of the stalls, a stall from which he had just removed some very large manure, he wondered just how much he was really helping. One thing was for sure; his Cole Haan loafers would never be the same. “I’m not even sure I’m doing this right.”

  Amelia glanced his way and shot him a smile. “You are.”

  She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail with a navy blue ribbon tied at the top to match her school uniform. Her cheeks were pink, skin glowing. Not so much when she’d first come to live with his brother, Joe, but she was beautifully healthy and confident now—an integral part of Red Hill Farm and she knew it.

  “Bartlet’s the last one. I’ll lead him out to the pasture and they can stay out since we canceled lessons this week.” A horn sounded and her head jerked up. “Oh, hey, there’s my bus. I’ve gotta run, Uncle Ash.”

  At the door, she jerked off her boots, grabbed her backpack and ran.

  And that left him staring into Bartlet’s very large face. Ash swallowed hard. “Hey—hey Bartlet, you big, um, horse. Good boy.”

  Tentatively, he stroked the horse’s neck and was rewarded with horse spit blown in his face. “Yeah, good boy. Okay, I know we’re not really friends, but your, um, Jordan is busy with Levi, and Amelia had to go to school, so here we are.”

  A month ago he would not have believed that he would be in the barn trying to be friendly with a horse. A very big horse. And yet, here he was.

  Jordan pushed him to be a better, stronger person. Bartlet was just a horse, but somehow this change seemed much bigger than that. He’d been going through the motions in his life. Work, home, repeat. Sure there had been women, social events, but no one that made him feel...anything.

  Jordan had been different from the jump. “She’s passionate about everything. Even you. Especially you and the kids you help.”

  The more he scratched and rubbed the giant head, the more at ease he felt. However, rubbing and scratching wasn’t going to get Bartlet into the pasture.

  A bright yellow lead was on a nail next to Bartlet’s stall. Ash looped the rope in one hand, then tried to sneak the hook onto Bartlet’s...bridle? Halter? He had no idea which, but either way, Bartlet wasn’t having it.

  The horse shook his mane and bobbed his head, which was three times the size of Ash’s. Ash backed up a step. “Okay, dude. You may be able to crush me under your feet, but it’s my job to get you to the grass. You like grass, right?”

  Bartlet rolled his eyes.

  “Sure, you do, big fella.” Ash made his voice as soothing as possible, like he did with kids who were afraid of the doctor. “You like grass and that’s where we’re going.”

  This time when he tried to connect the lead rope, he made contact. Yes.

  He unhooked the latch on the barn door, eased it open and clicked his tongue. Bartlet walked out like a big old Southern gentleman. Ash held his breath until he got him into the pasture, especially when the other horses and the donkey felt the need to run full speed straight at him, wheeling to a stop to greet Bartlet.

  A deep breath and a couple of big steps and his back met the pasture fence. He ducked under and stepped over, straightened and saw Jordan watching from the other side of the ring where they did therapy sessions, a goofy smile on her tired face.

  She had on a turquoise denim ball cap with a faded red patch. Her braids had been traded for a low ponytail. He could only guess she hadn’t had time to mess with the braids.

  He walked closer and couldn’t quite stifle the proud-of-himself smile. “Levi okay?”

  “Mrs. Matthews had measles when she was a little girl so she stopped by with some cookies and told me to take a nap, but animals come before napping, so I thought I’d take a look and see how far Amelia got this morning. I can’t believe you did this.” Her eyes filled and the words came out half-sob half-laugh. “Your shoes are all messed up.”

  He ducked under and stepped through again and, on her side of the fence, he wrapped his arms around her. “You’re so beautiful.”

  She snorted a laugh into his shoulder. “You’ve lost your mind. I’m exhausted.”

  “But you’re exhausted because you love that little guy and you’ve been there when he needed you. That is beautiful to me.” Ash knew he’d been drawn here from the first time he saw her. Maybe he’d fought too hard, or maybe he hadn’t fought hard enough, but in this moment, all of his reasons not to reach for her just disappeared.

  He cupped her face in his hands, tilted it up and gently kissed her lips and weepy eyes. He pulled her close again, holding her there against his chest, letting go of the need to control every single situation and letting himself just...feel.

  A horse nickered from the other side of the fence. Jordan stepped back, scrubbing the tears off her face. She sent Ash a trembling smile as she walked toward the fence, leaving him standing there wondering what happened to his heart...and his resolve.

  The horses and donkey crowded the fence and, one by one, she fed them carrots from her pocket. The goats got wind that food was happening and gathered around her feet, and he smiled because they made her laugh with their silly antics. They definitely weren’t as polite as the horses, but she fed them carrots, too.

  When she ran out, she held up her empty hands and the animals scattered. “Mooches.”

  Ash grabbed his medical bag from the car and fell into step beside her as she walked back to the cottage. “Whe
re’s Gus?”

  She glanced up and in the gray, damp day, her eyes glowed blue-green. “Inside. Levi’s cough is worse and Gus refuses to leave him.”

  On the porch steps, he stomped the mud and who knows what else off his shoes. “Let me get out of these and I’ll be right in to take a look at him.”

  She went through the door into her small cottage and he stared at the bright coral door that she closed behind her. Like the colors she surrounded herself with, Jordan was a bright spot.

  The moment by the barn may have been a long time coming but he knew it changed things. And he had to decide if he could overcome the fear—yes, he could name it that—he had about relationships.

  Jordan wasn’t the person to have a casual relationship with, and if he wanted to be a part of her life, he was going to have to make some fundamental changes in his.

  * * *

  Jordan picked Levi up from the high chair, where he hadn’t touched his food. “Not hungry, little man?”

  Levi coughed, the sound wet and thick. Gus nudged his foot and his big black tail wagged.

  “I’m worried about that cough.” Mrs. Matthews picked up the plate from the table and rinsed it. “He seems to be getting worse.”

  Kissing his forehead, Jordan frowned at how warm it was. She’d just given him ibuprofen an hour ago and he still seemed feverish. “Ash is coming in to check on Levi as soon as he gets his feet clean enough. He was mucking the stall in loafers.”

  The door opened behind her. “I heard that.”

  His bold blue eyes were laughing when she turned around. She raised an eyebrow. “Well, I mean, if you’re such a greenhorn that you wear loafers to work in the barn, you have to expect us to poke a little fun.”

  In his sock feet, he walked closer and placed his bag on the counter, reaching behind him to turn the light on. Levi winced and Ash leaned closer to take a look in his eyes. “No matting there yet, but the sensitivity to light is a symptom.”

  Levi buried his head in Jordan’s shoulder. Ash rubbed the stethoscope between his hands to warm it and slid it under the little T-shirt. Jordan was so close to him, she could feel his breath. He was listening, small lines of concentration forming on his forehead.